The Oiliest Secret Chapter 2: Trouble in Malibu

After three weeks of interrupted mail service, Jenna finally realized it was no accident. Someone she knew was getting his revenge.

Review: The Supreme Bean

Review: Foxes and Chickens, An Allegory, Review: A Bug Story, Review: The Girl Who Smelled Like Cheese, Review: Politics Shmolitics,Review: Past Time, Review: Blood Bites

The Supreme Bean

By Sally Putterman

Gonzo Publishing, 445 pages

Reviewed by Christamar Varicella 

While perusing Sally Putterman’s exhausting countdown to the world’s most perfect bean, I was reminded of all those random lists generated by the entertainment industry.  You know the ones I’m talking about: Hollywood’s Fifty Sexiest People, Twenty One Hot New Stars, One Hundred Stars from the 1980s that You Forgot Existed, One Hundred and Twenty Two Botched Nose Jobs, Thirty Seven Grizzly Celebrity Auto-Erotic Asphyxiations.  The lists go on and on.  And now, unfortunately, they stretch into book form and onto the subject of beans.  Why?  I read the whole book—all four hundred and fifty pages of it—and I still don’t know the answer to that question.

The Oiliest Secret Chapter One: Prelude to the Oiliness

Jenna was torn by the love of two men--Billy Baldwin Junior Junior and the man she referred to simply as The Postmaster.   

Think Vampires are Sexy? Try Rat Boy!

I keep wondering why everyone in the world isn't sick of vampire stories yet. We’ve gone from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the Anne Rice books of the '80s and '90s to Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series to the tween sensation, Twilight, to about a zillion other crappy books and movies, and yet for some reason the genre refuses to die. Isn't that just like a vampire?

Review: Blood Bites

Think Vampires are Sexy? Try Rat Boy!, Review: Foxes and Chickens, An Allegory, Review: A Bug Story, Review: The Girl Who Smelled Like Cheese, Review: The Supreme Bean, Review: Politics Shmolitics,Review: Past Time

Blood Bites

By Charlotte Bromide

Deuteronomy Press, 569 pages 

Reviewed by Sally Putterman

I’m beginning to think vampire novelists aren’t even trying anymore.  If you don’t believe me, look no further than the latest installment of Charlotte Bromide’s thirty seven part “Sexy Vampires Series” to see what I mean.  Originally intended as a trilogy, Miss Bromide’s vamps turned into such a cash cow she hasn’t been able to stop herself from churning out a seemingly never-ending stream of tasteless drivel.

An Open Letter to Cormac McCarthy

Dear Cormac,

I know you’re a busy man, what with your endless self-promotion and all, so let’s just get down to business.  I need you to do a job for me.  Some too-bit redneck ran off with my briefcase full of money, and the psychopath I hired to find him has turned out to be unstable.  I need you to find the redneck and the psychopath and kill them for me.  I believe the standard fee in a case like this is five thousand dollars. 

Review: Politics Shmolitics

Review: Foxes and Chickens, An Allegory, Review: A Bug Story, Review: The Girl Who Smelled Like Cheese, Review: The Supreme Bean, Review: Past Time, Review: Blood Bites

Politics Shmolitics: Why Everyone is Wrong but Me

By Burt Stinglick
Imaginary Press 372 pages
Reviewed by Purvis McGrew

“People think politics is a game.  I have my team.  You have yours.  My team is made up of the good guys.  Your team is made up of the bad guys.  My team is smart.  Your team is dumb.  If my team doesn’t win it’s because there are more stupid people voting than smart people.

The Reverend (Paper edition)

The paperback edition of my thriller novel is now available at https://www.createspace.com/3770710.  Loosely based on a true story, The Reverend is centered around a string of murders committed in the '60s and '70s in a southern mill town (my home town in fact), allegedly by a former Baptist preacher with ties to voodoo. I was interested in the story from a historical standpoint.  From a writing standpoint I was interested in combining different genres: mystery, suspense, true crime, courtroom drama--they're all in there.

Review: Foxes and Chickens, An Allegory

Review: A Bug Story, Review: The Girl Who Smelled Like Cheese, Review: The Supreme Bean, Review: Politics Shmolitics,Review: Past Time, Review: Blood Bites

Foxes and Chickens: An Allegory
by Purvis McGrew
Make Believe Books, 147 pages
Reviewed by Sally Putterman

 Purvis McGrew’s new book, Foxes and Chickens: an Allegory, may be the most ridiculous story this reviewer has ever reviewed.

A Curious Incident at the Monkey House

Not long ago in a town close to you,
A boy and his mother went to the zoo.
As they walked, the boy snacked from a bag of marshmallows
and tossed them at crocodiles bathing in shallows.

But the reptiles just sat there, doing nothing at all,

and the giraffes chewed their cud while ignoring his call.
The zebras were boring, the tigers were yawning.
The birds in their cages sang none of their songings.